FOUR HOURS LATER...
Angelo kicked a black slime away. Its body disintegrating immediately, leaving behind a 100 peso bill. He sighed and pouted.
Angelo is standing alone in the corridor where the inn's cafeteria can be found.
He ventured forward, on his way to complete the repairing tasks. As he arrived at the cafeteria, what welcomes him is a disgusting mess.
Angelo turns around, heaving.
"What the f###!" cursed Angelo as he takes a moment to settle himself.
"I really need some magic right now...Damn, I don't even want to get near of these" he complained under his breath. Cringing at the sight of cockroaches and bugs crawling on what seems to be moldy food and some kind of meat carcass lying on the table.
Angelo fixed the handkerchief around his face, tying it tightly. He glanced around the room and he sighs in relief when there seems to be no item that needed to be fixed. Although, the place sure needs a cleaning. But better wait for Ken for that.
Speaking of Ken, he is currently upstairs. Angelo doesn't know what he found but he seems agitated when they found a small dagger with some sort of word written in the Ginkgo Nation language etched in it.
Angelo then heads to the kitchen. The kitchen is a little bit better compared to the cafeteria outside. Just a little bit of dust and degreasing. The cupboards also need some repairs. All in all, not much is needed to fix the area up.
Hmm?
Angelo gazed at the old freezer.
It's still running...? Moreover, there's electricity in this place?
Perplexed and curious, he looked inside the freezer. Due to a long time of it not being defrosted, almost all the things inside are covered in ice. He curiously shifted them aside, only to stop.
Angelo's eyes turn solemn. He didn't really want to follow Ken to go after some clues. But whatever it is that was going in this instance, it sure takes a dark turn.
There inside the freezer lays a frozen hand.
------------
CHALLENGE 3 - INN'S SECOND FLOOR
Ken hurried along the hall, his eyes fleeting between each room's number. The sound of his steps echoing along the silent corridor.
Why?
Why is that dagger here...?
Ken clench his teeth, his eyes blazing as he hurried past the rooms.
There it is!
He stops before a room. Ken breaths heavily as he stared intensely at the door.
[ Room # 13 ]
Ken holds the doorknob tightly, his palms clench against it. Just as he was about to open it,
Ping~
[ Party Leader Shaira calling... ]
Ken stood still. After a moment of just staring at the notification, he unclenched his hand on the doorknob. Ken sighed mockingly to himself.
What is he doing? He's here to finish the task first and foremost, not chase something that might not be related to what happened back then...
A brief flash of a man towering over a person soaked in red slip into his mind. He shook his head, shaking away the memory.
After a brief hesitation, Ken answered the call.
" Shaira?"
>>"...Ken, did you found some logbook to your side?" she said, her voice soft and be barely be heard.
"Aah...I did find one. It's a key item for the side quest I received here..."
>>"...oh?... Can you find who checked in on room number seven and room number eight?"
"Why do you want to ask?"
>>"I needed it for--"
"Hmm?"
>>" Ja-just something I n...need for a side quest..."
"Oh sure. I could just tell you. I already remembered it anyway. Better yet, where are you guys, what room number?"
>> "....room number seven"
"Ok...just wait for a bit, I'll go to you"
Without waiting for her reply, Ken step back from the door and ended the call. He stared at the room for a second, his face unreadable. After a moment, he helplessly sighed and started walking away from room number 13.
He walks towards the dim hallway, his footsteps echoing inside. He then turned right, passing by several doors before stopping at room number 7.
knock knock knock knock
Hmm?
He tried to open the door but it's locked.
"Shaira? You there?"
No answer...
Sighing, he gazed at the [?] tab and tapped it. He then clicked the [ Items ] tab and took out the key to the room. He opened the door expecting Shaira and Marco but instead found silence.
This...
The room is empty. And it seems it has been this way for a long time, the dust in the room hasn't even been disturbed.
Ping~
The system's notification breaks him out of his thought. His eyes wandered around the room one more time before gazing at the notification.
[ THE MYSTERY OF THE INN ]
The [?] tab changed. He clicked the no longer question marked tab, revealing details about the challenges so far.
[ THE MYSTERY OF THE INN ]
[ Due to a certain circumstance, your party arrived at a rundown inn where you are commissioned to clean and fix the place. After dealing with a pest infestation and throwing out the garbage, your party encountered a paranormal event. Split into two groups (Team A, Team B), your party is left with no choice but to found the truth. ]
Hmm?
Ken noticed the follow-up quest below and he immediately clicked it.
[ THE MYSTERY OF THE INN ] >> [ CALL FROM THE OTHER SIDE ]
[ CALL FROM THE OTHER SIDE ]
Team B is trapped in the 'other world'. For them to return, they have to find out what happened to the inn. With them tied up from the rules of the otherworld, it is up to Team A to help them.
Team A can only initiate contact with Team B, 10 times.
Team B can call Team A any number of times.
--
Ken stared at the new details, his face frowning.
Otherworld? What do they mean by that? And how did this happen?
Lost in thought, Ken step inside the room. His eyes wander, trying to find something out of the ordinary. Based on the logbook, the person who lasts checked-in in here was Soledad Pacheco.
He walked around the room and saw a small trash can near the bedside table. There, he saw the burnt paper along with its remnant ashes.
Ken picked it up and saw the very same thing Shaira saw when she first saw it.
On the piece of paper, there wrote the number '5'.
Is this about room number 5? Soledad from room 7 and Edward who checked in that room, do have the same surname...
It is also a particular coincidence that due to the odd arrangement of room numbering in this inn, both rooms are neighbors to each other.
Ken hurried his pace as he opens the door for room number 5. Upon opening the door, a skeleton greeted him. The bones are prone to the bed, the skull facing against the headboard. The skeleton's arm is outreach while its other arm is held against its stomach. It wears tattered clothing and based on the style of the clothes, the bones might belong to a woman.
This must be Carmen Santos.
He walked inside and upon further inspection of the bone, he noticed a crack and splinter in its rib bone, along with vertebrae along the spine. It certainly corresponds to the stains left in the tattered clothing. Ken takes a closer look and upon further investigation, it looks like it had been stabbed by something sharp.
Further, into the room, he then saw another skeleton lying on the floor. Based on its clothing, he surmised that it's a male. Ken searched the body's clothing and found an old wallet. Inside is a wedding photo along with the outdated Narra currency bills.
Upon further inspection of the body, he found a ring on one of its fingers. The curious thing is, the metal band is set on the middle phalanx of the finger. Normally, if you wear a ring, you set it near the knuckles.
Also, based on the crack in the back of the skull and the blood and tears in the clothing, this person was probably pushed down. It knocked their head on the floor rather hard and was then summarily stabbed multiple times.
Adding it all up, it's pretty clear what happened here.
This Edward and Carmen have an affair and was then caught. Basing on the number of stabs on both bodies, the person who killed them bears a great hatred towards them.
So far, he is sure that the primary suspect is Soledad but...
Ken gazed at the room, his eyebrows furrowed.
She can't do it alone without alerting any of the victims...she has an accomplice...